Canisius Moves To Semifinals, Defeats Siena 71-65
MAAC Sports
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The second quarterfinal round game of the 2014 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship lived up to every bit of the billing a No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup should have. Fourth-seeded Canisius pulled away in the final minutes and defeated 5th-seed Siena 71-65 on Saturday at the Mass Mutual Center.
The victory propels the Golden Griffins (21-11) into the semifinal round, where they will face top-seeded Iona, on Sunday at 4:30 p.m.
Billy Baron scored 17 points to lead the Golden Griffins. All five of Canisius’ starters scored in double figures. Chris Perez added 13 points, Jordan Heath 11, and Zach Lewis and Chris Manhertz each scored 10.
Siena’s Lavon Long hit a pair of free throws with 4:41 remaining to tie the score at 58-58, the 20th tie of the game. Canisius outscored the Saints 13-7 the remainder of the game to secure the win.
Siena’s Rob Poole hit a three-pointer from in front of the Saints bench for their final lead of the game, 61-60, with 4:02 left. Manhertz hit a pair of free throws to give Canisius a 62-61 lead with 3:42 left, and Baron followed that with a three-point field goal to give the Griffs a 65-62 advantage.
A Brett Bisping layup pulled the Saints to within two at 65-63 with 2:23 left, but a jumper by Perez 12 seconds later extended the Canisius lead to four. Bisping came back with a layup at 1:36, but those were the final points that the Saints would score on the day.
A Manhertz field goal under the basket gave Canisius a 69-65 lead, and Siena was unable to convert on its next possession. The Golden Griffs spread the floor on their final possession, and Baron was able to find a seam and drive in for a layup for a 71-65 advantage. Poole missed a three-point attempt after a Siena timeout, and no one could corral the rebound. One final three attempt by Evan Hymes fell short.
Bisping led Siena with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Poole added 14 points.
It was close throughout the first half as well, as Siena’s largest lead was six points, 3:58 into the game at 9-3, and Canisius’ was three, 16-13, at the 12:08 mark. The teams battled through four ties and 14 lead changes in the first half.
Bisping had the hot hand in the first half for Siena, scoring 11 points. Poole added nine, including the Saints only three-pointer of the half. Siena shot 46.2% from the floor in the first half.
Heath scored nine points for Golden Griffs in the first half, hitting 3-of-4 from three-point range. Baron added eight points, hitting 2-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc. Canisius hit 57.9% from the field in the first half, including 57.1% from three-point range.